When students are preparing for their GCSEs, it can definitely seem overwhelming. You may feel that you don’t know enough or think that your high school teachers haven’t been sufficiently helpful. Consequently, looking for a tutor is a logical next step, as tutors are mostly perceived to be extremely useful in getting students to reach those top grades. However, when factors such as the price of a tutor are taken into account, is it really worth it?
Whether it is worth a student getting a tutor or not at GCSE really depends on the individual. If as a GCSE student, you are really struggling and don’t feel as if you are getting enough support at school, a tutor may be helpful. However, if you think that you can pass all your GCSEs and be accepted into your next steps of education without getting the top grades, a tutor could possibly help you achieve this, but it may not be worth it.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article come from one student’s perspective. These views may be different from your own. You may have to carry out your own research before making the final decision of whether a tutor is really worth it or not.
If you want to discover more about whether getting a tutor at GCSE is really worth it or not, check out the rest of this article!
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How much is a GCSE tutor?
The price of getting a tutor for GCSE depends on a range of factors. For example, what subject you would like a tutor in, whether you would like the tutor to be online or in person and how many qualifications the tutor has.
How many tutoring sessions you have per week can also affect the price. However, this article from Edumentors gives the general price range for GCSE tutors in the UK. Tutors usually cost £20 – £40 per hour.
It can be more than this however! After all, the price can also depend on where you live. Therefore, online tutoring is often cheaper than in person tutoring.
Is the price of a GCSE tutor worth it?
Regardless of how cheap a tutor may be, you must consider whether the price you are paying is worth the outcome. It may be useful to get a few tutoring lessons to start with, then review the situation and see whether the tutor is really helping you enough for the price.
Personally, I believe that the money paying for a tutor might not always be worth it. After all, often high schools offer study groups and extra support to GCSE students who need it – for free!
Therefore, it could be an idea to get as much help as you can from school before you go tutor searching.
Additionally, you can have a look at free online resources – there are plenty of YouTube channels and websites that will provide GCSE support. You can check out this article from Edumentors for some of the best free online GCSE resources.
If you feel school and other resources don’t offer you enough support, then spending some money on a tutor may be worth it.
Why is having a GCSE tutor helpful?
One of the main benefits of having a tutor is that the teaching is student focused. The tutor will be concentrating their attention on you, as the student. This means that their teaching will focus purely on your needs and your own specific weaknesses can be rectified.
Having a teacher one and one may also enable some students to feel safer asking questions, as they won’t be forced to speak in front of a room full of peers. This can increase their understanding. You can discover more benefits of having a tutor if you check out this article from Oxford Learning College.
Consequently, tutoring has been shown to consistently increase student’s grades. You can find out more about this if you check out this article from Total Education Solutions.
Tutors often achieved the highest grades themselves at GSCE and A-Level. This means that they know useful strategies to tackle exams and can give their own personal advice to help you succeed. This means that tutors can be extremely helpful.
If you do want to discover some general exam advice, such as how to prevent the dreaded cramming for an exam, check out this article from Think Student. Alternatively, you can get some tips on exam techniques if you check out this article from Think Student.
How do you know if you need a GCSE tutor?
If you feel that you are failing one or more of your GCSE subjects regardless of how much support from school you get and regardless of how much effort you put in, it may be time to search for a tutor. This is especially the case if you are failing GCSE Maths and GCSE English Language, as passing these subjects is compulsory.
It is probably best to search for a tutor when you feel that if you don’t get extra support, you won’t have enough qualifications to enter your next step in education. After all, certain A-Level subjects have specific criteria which you must fulfil in your GCSEs to be accepted onto the courses.
If these criteria seem impossible to fulfil without a tutor, it may be time to search for one! However, if you are currently passing all of your GCSE mock exams and are getting average grades, you don’t really need to get a tutor.
This is because as long as you get the grades you need to get in to sixth form, college or an apprenticeship, you are successful! You don’t really need a tutor to push you to get the top grades when this isn’t necessary for your next steps.
As long as you are already getting the grades you need, a tutor isn’t necessary. After all, GCSEs aren’t the be all and end all! Employers often focus on your most recent qualifications – these will be your A-Levels or equivalent qualifications unless you get higher qualifications.
If you want to find out what are considered ‘good’ GCSE grades, check out this article from Think Student. They may be much lower than you think!
What are the best subjects to get a tutor in?
The best subjects to get a tutor in depends on each individual! If you are struggling with GCSE Maths, it would be best to get a tutor in GCSE Maths, rather than GCSE English. If you happen to want some tips on how to revise for GCSE Maths, check out this article from Think Student.
However, it is true that some subjects may not be improved even with a tutor. For example, students often say that GCSE Psychology includes a lot of memorising, in comparison to understanding.
Therefore, it may not be useful to get a tutor in this subject because all the tutor will be doing is telling you the information that you need to know. They may also help you to tackle exam questions, however your teachers at school will surely be doing this too!
Therefore, if you are struggling with GCSE Psychology, the best thing to probably do is revise, rather than get a tutor. Of course, though, the situation will be slightly different for everyone.
In comparison, if you are struggling with GCSE Maths, getting a tutor could be extremely useful, as they would slowly talk you through all of the different methods and help you when you get stuck. GCSE Maths is one of the most popular subjects to get tutored in!
You can check out the other most popular subjects to be tutored in if you check out this article from Fleet Tutors.